Kingdom Hearts III
by TigressAyura
Summary: Young Seijun pines for her lost sister upon her usual cliffperch. But one day the perch breaks-with her upon it! She awakens within a different body, encountering Sora and Riku! But she no longer remembers her name, knowing herself as Ayura. Who is Ayura really? But soon, even Seijun's true memory begins to unravel, for her true identity is somehow related to Ayura's memories.


Chapter One: Shock!

A little girl walked atop a rocky cliff side overlooking the beach, holding her canvas shoes in one hand. She appeared to be about eight years old. Her brown shoulder-length hair and cream colored blouse was wind-swept, and was continually being swept by the sea breeze. The waves sighed as they caressed the sand, and the sun was setting, casting its gentle light onto the landscape, dyeing all in an orange light. The child was barefoot, and her small toes hugged the face of the rock enough for her to balance. She wandered to the very edge of the stones, of the safety of the cliff, and peered down. It was a long way down from where she was to the sand, and she gazed longingly at the waves.

What wonders lay in store beyond the waters, the oceans that seemed to last forever? In her heart she believed there was another place out there, somewhere where someone else would be looking past this same ocean, the barrier that separated them.

"Hey!" a distant voice called. The girl turned to see her friend, who ran toward her with concern. "Careful! Don't go on the edge!"

The girl crept a few paces away from the drop. "I'm careful, don't you see? I won't fall off."

Her friend joined her on the stones of the coast, but not nearly as close to the edge. "What are you doing here? Don't you think we should go home? It'll be dark soon."

"Yeah, but…" the girl started. "It's so pretty here. This is my favorite place. And the best time to be here is at sunrise or sunset." She turned again to watch the sinking sun. For a moment there was no sound but that of the wind and the waves.

"It _is _pretty," her friend agreed, and sat upon a smooth stone. The girl strolled once more to the edge, following until she came upon her perch, which was one section of the cliff, one large stone, in fact, that jutted out the farthest out towards the horizon. This area also had the least support compared to the rest. "Come back here!" her friend cried. "It's dangerous!"

The girl laughed. "Julin, how many times do you think I've been here? Every time you don't find me at the park. I won't fall. I'm always careful." Julin bowed her head and began to fidget with her long blond ponytail, as she did whenever she became embarrassed. The girl sighed, put her shoes on, and sat, resting her crossed arms on her knees. "Do you ever wonder if there was another place out there? Past the ocean, which everyone says is infinite? I don't think it is. The ocean has to end somewhere…and I wonder what that somewhere will be like…"

"You always think about that!" Julin whined. "How come now you don't want to play with us, like you used to? Aren't you happy here?"

"What, I can't dream?" the girl asked.

"You can imagine, I don't mind that, but you should spend time with people at home, you know!" Julin cried, upset. "Just because your sister disappeared over the waves doesn't mean you have to, too!"

"You don't understand! She's gone, but she's still out there!" the girl retorted. "She has to be. No one's ever found her. But she's alive. I just know it."

"No one ever found her 'cause the ocean carried her off, you know!" Julin shouted. "She's _dead_, alright?! And you can't make her come back!"

"Why don't you just go back to everyone else!?" the girl spat. "Everyone else seems to get along just fine without me!" Unseen to Julin, tears had begun to stream down her face. Both girls fell silent.

"Okay, I'm sorry," Julin sighed. "I know you miss her. I was just worried about you." The girl gave no sign of acknowledgement, and she could hear her friend's footsteps receding. The wind caressed her face as if to comfort her. The last bit of the sun had just disappeared under the horizon, and the whole sky had taken on the warm colors of the beginning and the end. The cliff on which she now sat had been turned a beautiful red-orange.

The girl wiped off her tears and searched the late sky again for any sign of another life, another place…

Suddenly the cliff began to shudder under her. Immediately she put her hands on the ground to steady herself, but the cliff only trembled more. "Julin…" she called uncertainly. "Julin!" this time her voice was filled with fear and the cry for help was heard.

Julin turned and stared in horror as she laid eyes upon the shuddering stones. Without another thought she ran to help her friend, but she hesitated as she climbed onto the first of the rock. She painstakingly took every step with care, but at a snail's pace, balancing herself constantly as the tremor continued.

_Crack._ The first large break in the stone that kept Ayura on the cliff, and the portion with her weight upon it shook. The girl cried out in fear, and her panicked voice choked out, "Julin…I'm scared…"

"Hold on!" Julin cried, now on her hands and knees as she approached ever closer to the edge and to her friend.

"Hold on to what?!" The girl cried, her voice shaking along with the stone.

"Don't move! I'm coming…!" Julin fought for every foot of travel, every inch. The girl yelped again as another large crack in the stone appeared, and the rock shuddered, threatening to shake off the now-teetering edge, with the child upon it. Julin was now only about two-and-a-half feet away from her friend. She stretched her arm as far as she could. "Grab on!"

The girl tried, but even at the farthest she could go, their fingers were still inches away from each other. "I can't! It's too far!"

"Yes, you can!" Julin shouted over the roar of the grinding stones, inching closer still. Now they were only an inch apart. "Come on! Reach!"

The girl straightened her legs, but that extra strain was too much for the stressed stone. The stone under the girl fully snapped, and the girl shrieked, reaching up but quickly plummeting as the rock gave way below her. The perch, along with Julin, rushed away from her as she plunged down, and everything around her faded to blackness.

But she fought the dark. The girl tried to lift her eyes open, straining to throw off the darkness holding then shut. She was on the beach floor and could see Julin at her side, crying. Her body was silent but was screaming in agony, and she could feel something wet at the back of her head, but the pain was already fading to a dull throb.

She could her friend's voice, but it was faint, and echoing. "Don't worry; it'll be okay…I'll go get some help! Stay awake, for me…" the girl vision was fuzzy, and even then it was still becoming worse.

When Julin had left, there was a flash of light, then a dark figure that knelt next to the girl, but the child could not see who it was. Soon her sight was swallowed by darkness, and she felt as if it had consumed her as well, seemingly tearing her away from herself, and she sank deeper into it, unable to fight. It was heavy around her like the vast ocean, drowning her…

Then a voice, begging, pleading. At first the words were incomprehensible, but soon, the girl heard it clearer and clearer, and it seemed to be her lifeline, the force that slowly began to lift her up from the blackness, the nothingness. The words were somewhat discernible now. _Wake up…please…stay…with us…!_ The voice was familiar, but it was not Julin's. The sound of the voice helped the child's lost consciousness finally find its way back to the light…

"Wake up! Come on, you can't die on us now!" It was that same voice, frightened and anxious. It was a boy's voice. "Ayura…!"

The girl reacted to this name, slowly lifting her heavy eyelids, blinking. There was a boy leaning over her, with spiky brown hair. A chain with a golden crown dangled from his neck.

"Hey!" he hugged her, hoisting her up. "I thought you were gone for good!" he let go, looking her over. "Are you okay? What happened back there? What did he do to you?!" His voice had gone from concerned to angry.

The girl blinked, not knowing how to answer the sudden questions. What was he talking about? She sat up, pushing aside the boy and surveyed herself, gasping silently. This was not her. And yet it moved as if it were hers. This body was so much older, and dressed in blue, violet, grey, and black, whereas the girl tended to dress in warmer colors. Her hair was not brown, but black, and it flowed down to her waist.

"Whoa!" the boy cried. "Are you okay? I can't help you if you don't say anything, Ayura!"

At last, she spoke. "I'm not Ayu—" she cut herself short. "I…I really don't know…" She looked at him. She knew him from somewhere. "Who…?" She searched through her memory, but there was no trace of him. Suddenly the name came to her. "Sora…"

There was no more trace of his childlike first reaction. He was studying her intently, puzzled. "Yeah?"

Another boy came in. "Is she awake?" He was older than Sora, but much too young to have the long, also spiky grey-white hair he did. He smiled when he saw the girl, and walked towards her. "I'm glad you're okay, Ayura."

"But—" the girl started. "I'm not—" but then she stopped herself. She knew not what other name there was, even as she racked her memory for it. Strangely, the name 'Ayura' was as familiar to her as if it were hers in the first place, so she resolved to use it until she remembered. She stared at the second boy, and soon his name also came to her. "Riku…" She blinked, surprised at herself.

"Is something wrong?" Riku asked, tilting his head slightly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not sure…" Ayura buried her face in her hands.

"So what happened back there with Azerax?" Riku asked. "From what I could hear, it was pretty intense. We had to drag you outta there…"

"Azerax? Who's that?"

Sora and Riku looked at each other.

"The guy you were _fighting_?" Sora emphasized. "What happened then?"

"What do you mean?" Ayura's voice was rising in complete bewilderment. "I didn't fight."

"Of course you did," Riku insisted. "That's why we went there in the first place, wasn't it?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Ayura breathed anxiously. "And how do I know you? I know your names, but we've never…" the last word _met_ hung heavy in the air, unsaid.

Riku gasped, and Sora stared at her in horror.

"You really don't remember anything, do you?"

(CHAPTER TWO COMING SOON!)

(still mulling over the title of the next chapter…hmmm)

SIT TIGHT!


End file.
